Studies of Ancient Rome

Friday, August 16, 2013

Private Houses of Roman Britain, Part 2

>>>> Private Houses of Roman Britain Part # 2 <<<<

If the private houses of Roman Britain differed a good deal, in plan, from the houses in Pompeii, the internal fittings were definitely classical. There was the same painted wall plaster, the same mosaic floors, the same hypocausts, and bathing rooms as would have been found in Italy. The wall-paintings and mosaics may have been of a poorer quality in Britain, and the hypocausts more numerous; even some fittings themselves were indicative of the ideas and products of a milder and more southerly climate, as well as a classical culture. The picture of the head of Mercury (Fig. #3) against a background of red is a fragment of wall plaster that once ordained a house in Roman London. Despite a certain crudity of execution, it is a vigorous piece of drawing. However, that it should be a Roman and not a Celtic God, that is represented, is eminently characteristic. So too, with the mosaics. No mosaic has yet come to light in the whole of Roman Britain which presents any local subject or contains any non-classical feature.

(I hasten to remind all my readers that the text from which this idea was taken was published in 1924, so the above statement may no longer be true.)

The usual ornamentation consists of mythological scenes such as Orpheus charming the animals, Apollo chasing dolphins, or Bacchus riding a panther (Fig. #4).

Traces of dwelling-houses conventionally called “villas” have been detected and excavated in various parts of the civilized area of Britain. Some sixty or seventy examples have been noted for instance in Somerset, about as many in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, some fifty in Kent, and thirty in Northamptonshire. The city of Oxford alone has yielded more than a dozen.

Note: Figures #3 and 4 can be found on my blog; http://RomanStudies.blogspot.com

Reference:

Haverfield, (revised by George MacDonald), “The Roman Occupation of Britain,” Oxford, At the Clarendon Press, 1924.

Respectfully Submitted;

Marcus Audens

Private Houses In Roman Britain, Part !

>>>> Private Houses In Roman Britain <<<<

November, 1999 Issue of the Nova Roma Eagle, Part One

This survey will look at the various excavations of dwelling-houses in Roman Britain, and will compare structure, use, internal fittings, and grounds to the dwelling-houses in the Mediterranean areas of Roman civilization. It will be seen that while the internal fittings and decorations remain standard from the Mediterranean culture, the structure and the use of the house will change to adapt in several ways to the variations of climate and temperature. The residential houses of this survey fall generally into two classes exactly parallel to the houses unearthed at Caerwent and Silchester, England. As the excavations at Silchester and Caerwent have proven, the private dwelling-houses in the Roman-British towns resembled the country houses in the rural districts of the province.

Two illustrations (Figs. #1 and 2), which though they may be ultimately derived from Mediterranean precedents, show that the housing types are not Italian. They are rather Celtic or European. Obviously houses of such irregular shape could not possibly have been fitted into continuous streets, nor was any attempt made to do so. The “insulae” of Silchester and Caerwent were not tenement blocks. They were rather, simple rectangular spaces, each of which might contain two, three, or even as many as four, separate dwelling-houses with ample garden, or other open, land around them, The above mentioned illustrations can be found at my blog:

http://RomanStudies.Blogspot.com

just as soon as I get them redrawn. I will make the announcement when such is finished.

To be continued >>>>

Reference:

-- F. Haverfield,”The Roman Occupation of Britain” (revised by George MacDonald), Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1924.

Respectfully Submitted;

Marcus Audens